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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. craft — boats
  3. band — a ring
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fall — the season
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. craft — a skill
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. kid — child
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bat — the animal
  19. band — a music group
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — in the ear

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com